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Saratoga Springs, New York
The Skidmore News
Volume 71 Number 3
Thursday, September 25, 1986
Thursday Night With Security
By Pamela Garber
Skidmore College Security is an integral force operating within the com­munity, acting as a backbone for the maintenance of safety on campus. Security’s responsibilities affect the Skidmore community as a whole as well as individuals. However, many members of Skidmore are unaware of the various functions it performs which constitutes the dominant role that it plays in the community.
Director of Security, Larry Porter, is a 17 year veteran of the force. At an interview, Mr. Porter stated that secur­ity’s primary goal is “to protect members of the college community from physical harm” and secondly, “to protect the college property and their interests.” Mr. Porter explained that the present force consists of 22 full and part-time employees, of which 2 to 5 people work each shift.
Security’s responsibilities range from numerous basic routine checks to un­expected emergencies. The checks include locking arid unlocking every building, transferring money from the Spa, book- store food service CGA, Admissions, etc., transporting ill and injured students, escorting outside personnel and visitors, enforcing all rules pertaining to driving and parking on campus, coordinating efforts to aid in snow removal, and preventative patrol on foot and in the patrol car. In addition, security works regularly with local, county, and state police departments and are present at all major events on campus.
Mr. Porter explained that security’s busiest times are undoubtedly Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m., as a result of the fact that parties increase dramatically, alcohol consump­tion rises, and there is an influx of visitors from off-campus. The major problems encountered include noise complaints, vandalism, speeding, driving while intoxicated, and petty larceny.
Mr. Porter said that “as compared with other areas, I am certain that this is a very safe environment but crimes do occur. Our concern is to prevent this to the best of our ability. We have been successful and hope to be more success­ful.” He continued, “In my 17 years here, I have had first-hand experience in what can happen when students abuse alcohol, drugs, disregard fire and safety regula­tions and speed on this campus. Our major concern is to lesson the chance of fatal or serious injury accidents.”
This year security’s radar as an addi­tional speed prevention has sparked some friction within the student body. Mr. Porter feels that it is important for the Skidmore community to understand that “every measure security uses is a deterrent to make this campus a safe place.” Mr. Porter continued, “There is not a person on this campus that hates the speed bumps more than I do, but, the last academic year was the first year since I have been at Skidmore that we did not have a
personal injury auto accident.” There have been fatalities on this campus due to car accidents and as the record presently stands, the speed bumps and use of radar have eliminated any incidents.
If one is stopped for reckless driving on the first offense, a security report is forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs Office. The school rules stipulate that “Offenders will receive a warning from the Dean’s Office, to be part of a student’s file for the duration of his/ her tenure at the college. If the severity of the violation warrants, the student may be referred to
agencies. In fact, he noted that Skidmore College has not had an officially reported rape since 1970. Mr. Port'er cited an incident which occurred 17 years ago involving a girl being beaten and brutally raped in the vicinity of the stables. She intended to press charges; however, being a debutante, her father did not want it publicized and had her withdrawn from Skidmore. At the time, Porter recollects, Security was accused of covering up the incident. People are encouraged to officially report all incidents since other­wise, nothing can be done. Date rapes do occur on the campus, but Mr. Porter
basement of Tower to put into effect the silent alarm systems, which sound off only at headquarters in case of a break in. In the middle of these routine duties, we received a call on the walkie-talkie to attend to an abandoned car in Tower lot. After helping the owner remove his automobile, we continued with the routine checks. Subsequently, the officers stopped a car of obvious visitors to Skidmore as a basic precautionary measure and briefly questioned them. Following, we received a complaint of noise in Tower from an RA who was unable to effectively quiet a room. Following, we transported an ill student from the emergency room at the Saratoga Springs Hospital to the infirmary.
Next, we parked the police car by the top of the Scribner Village road and set up the radar detector. I observed the officers attach the radar gun to the top and the dash and plug it into the cigarette lighter, and intently watched the speed of each passing car displayed. They explained that they were not hiding since their purpose is to slow down the speeders rather than give tickets. I witnessed this technique to be quite effective since we did not catch one speeder. Then, we moved to another location and once again did not encounter any vehicles exceeding the limit. However, we caught a jeep driving through the woods which is specifically stipulated in the rules to be a violation. The officers stopped the vehicles and presented the driver with a first offense.
The officers also demonstrated the emergency phones located throughout the campus that can be identified by a red or green light. If the phone is knocked off, headquarters is instantlv notified.
the SIB, which may administer fines, remove driving privileges or levy other penalties.” If a student receives a second offense, he or she “automatically loses campus driving privileges. If the case warrants, a student may be referred to the SIB for possible additional penalties.” Mr. Porter described the radar system which security is using to be quite basic. He stated, “I am not concerned about student’s radar detectors. My intent is to deter the consistent violators, not punish.” Security would like to “remove that less than 1% of the student body who are a total threat to the rest of the college community by driving recklessly with no regard.”
Mr. Porter feels that the Skidmore campus is “as safe an environment as any, as long as you use basic precautions such as not walking alone at 3 a.m. There are very, very few incidents of any physical violence.” However, he men­tioned that they “regularly remove undesirables from this campus.”
In reference to the issue of rape, no accurate statistics are available on its degree of occurrence. Mr. Porter ex­plained that only 1 out of 20 rape victims report the crime to police or security
confidently stated, “ I do not believe that there is any concern of rape.”
Last Thursday evening, I accompanied Sgt. Fred Bunnell and Patrolman Ron Butler of the Skidmore Security force from midnight until 2:30 a.m. in the patrol car. I found it to be a fascinating experience, allowing me to see the role of security from an entirely new perspective. I was able to gain insight into the mechanics of Security and see how essential a force it is for the tranquil continuity of the campus. I will recapitu­late the events which I observed to give a flavor of a Thursday night.
In the period of time that I spent with security, we drove around the campus and locked up various buildings, the repetitive daily duties. After the officers finished locking each building, they would contact headquarters located in the
Sgt. Fred Bunnell and Patrolman Ron Butler pointed out various trees on the campus which still have scars from serious auto accidents throughout the years. Finally, I was quite impressed by the fact that everything Security does is logged in a book and organized by name and type of incident. Between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1985, 15,218 entries were recorded; 1986 has seen 10,943 thus far.
Hopefully, this article has given a flavor of how one of the most important institutions on campus functions. It serves a vast and necessary purpose of which the members of Skidmore should be aware and contribute their efforts to making the campus an even safer environment in which to live.
Inside: Radar Photographs Food Service St John Phelps Ad Nauseam •••
11
7
12
Speed Bumps Ahead

Saratoga Springs, New York
The Skidmore News
Volume 71 Number 3
Thursday, September 25, 1986
Thursday Night With Security
By Pamela Garber
Skidmore College Security is an integral force operating within the com­munity, acting as a backbone for the maintenance of safety on campus. Security’s responsibilities affect the Skidmore community as a whole as well as individuals. However, many members of Skidmore are unaware of the various functions it performs which constitutes the dominant role that it plays in the community.
Director of Security, Larry Porter, is a 17 year veteran of the force. At an interview, Mr. Porter stated that secur­ity’s primary goal is “to protect members of the college community from physical harm” and secondly, “to protect the college property and their interests.” Mr. Porter explained that the present force consists of 22 full and part-time employees, of which 2 to 5 people work each shift.
Security’s responsibilities range from numerous basic routine checks to un­expected emergencies. The checks include locking arid unlocking every building, transferring money from the Spa, book- store food service CGA, Admissions, etc., transporting ill and injured students, escorting outside personnel and visitors, enforcing all rules pertaining to driving and parking on campus, coordinating efforts to aid in snow removal, and preventative patrol on foot and in the patrol car. In addition, security works regularly with local, county, and state police departments and are present at all major events on campus.
Mr. Porter explained that security’s busiest times are undoubtedly Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m., as a result of the fact that parties increase dramatically, alcohol consump­tion rises, and there is an influx of visitors from off-campus. The major problems encountered include noise complaints, vandalism, speeding, driving while intoxicated, and petty larceny.
Mr. Porter said that “as compared with other areas, I am certain that this is a very safe environment but crimes do occur. Our concern is to prevent this to the best of our ability. We have been successful and hope to be more success­ful.” He continued, “In my 17 years here, I have had first-hand experience in what can happen when students abuse alcohol, drugs, disregard fire and safety regula­tions and speed on this campus. Our major concern is to lesson the chance of fatal or serious injury accidents.”
This year security’s radar as an addi­tional speed prevention has sparked some friction within the student body. Mr. Porter feels that it is important for the Skidmore community to understand that “every measure security uses is a deterrent to make this campus a safe place.” Mr. Porter continued, “There is not a person on this campus that hates the speed bumps more than I do, but, the last academic year was the first year since I have been at Skidmore that we did not have a
personal injury auto accident.” There have been fatalities on this campus due to car accidents and as the record presently stands, the speed bumps and use of radar have eliminated any incidents.
If one is stopped for reckless driving on the first offense, a security report is forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs Office. The school rules stipulate that “Offenders will receive a warning from the Dean’s Office, to be part of a student’s file for the duration of his/ her tenure at the college. If the severity of the violation warrants, the student may be referred to
agencies. In fact, he noted that Skidmore College has not had an officially reported rape since 1970. Mr. Port'er cited an incident which occurred 17 years ago involving a girl being beaten and brutally raped in the vicinity of the stables. She intended to press charges; however, being a debutante, her father did not want it publicized and had her withdrawn from Skidmore. At the time, Porter recollects, Security was accused of covering up the incident. People are encouraged to officially report all incidents since other­wise, nothing can be done. Date rapes do occur on the campus, but Mr. Porter
basement of Tower to put into effect the silent alarm systems, which sound off only at headquarters in case of a break in. In the middle of these routine duties, we received a call on the walkie-talkie to attend to an abandoned car in Tower lot. After helping the owner remove his automobile, we continued with the routine checks. Subsequently, the officers stopped a car of obvious visitors to Skidmore as a basic precautionary measure and briefly questioned them. Following, we received a complaint of noise in Tower from an RA who was unable to effectively quiet a room. Following, we transported an ill student from the emergency room at the Saratoga Springs Hospital to the infirmary.
Next, we parked the police car by the top of the Scribner Village road and set up the radar detector. I observed the officers attach the radar gun to the top and the dash and plug it into the cigarette lighter, and intently watched the speed of each passing car displayed. They explained that they were not hiding since their purpose is to slow down the speeders rather than give tickets. I witnessed this technique to be quite effective since we did not catch one speeder. Then, we moved to another location and once again did not encounter any vehicles exceeding the limit. However, we caught a jeep driving through the woods which is specifically stipulated in the rules to be a violation. The officers stopped the vehicles and presented the driver with a first offense.
The officers also demonstrated the emergency phones located throughout the campus that can be identified by a red or green light. If the phone is knocked off, headquarters is instantlv notified.
the SIB, which may administer fines, remove driving privileges or levy other penalties.” If a student receives a second offense, he or she “automatically loses campus driving privileges. If the case warrants, a student may be referred to the SIB for possible additional penalties.” Mr. Porter described the radar system which security is using to be quite basic. He stated, “I am not concerned about student’s radar detectors. My intent is to deter the consistent violators, not punish.” Security would like to “remove that less than 1% of the student body who are a total threat to the rest of the college community by driving recklessly with no regard.”
Mr. Porter feels that the Skidmore campus is “as safe an environment as any, as long as you use basic precautions such as not walking alone at 3 a.m. There are very, very few incidents of any physical violence.” However, he men­tioned that they “regularly remove undesirables from this campus.”
In reference to the issue of rape, no accurate statistics are available on its degree of occurrence. Mr. Porter ex­plained that only 1 out of 20 rape victims report the crime to police or security
confidently stated, “ I do not believe that there is any concern of rape.”
Last Thursday evening, I accompanied Sgt. Fred Bunnell and Patrolman Ron Butler of the Skidmore Security force from midnight until 2:30 a.m. in the patrol car. I found it to be a fascinating experience, allowing me to see the role of security from an entirely new perspective. I was able to gain insight into the mechanics of Security and see how essential a force it is for the tranquil continuity of the campus. I will recapitu­late the events which I observed to give a flavor of a Thursday night.
In the period of time that I spent with security, we drove around the campus and locked up various buildings, the repetitive daily duties. After the officers finished locking each building, they would contact headquarters located in the
Sgt. Fred Bunnell and Patrolman Ron Butler pointed out various trees on the campus which still have scars from serious auto accidents throughout the years. Finally, I was quite impressed by the fact that everything Security does is logged in a book and organized by name and type of incident. Between January 1, 1985 and December 31, 1985, 15,218 entries were recorded; 1986 has seen 10,943 thus far.
Hopefully, this article has given a flavor of how one of the most important institutions on campus functions. It serves a vast and necessary purpose of which the members of Skidmore should be aware and contribute their efforts to making the campus an even safer environment in which to live.
Inside: Radar Photographs Food Service St John Phelps Ad Nauseam •••
11
7
12
Speed Bumps Ahead